[Angus]

Originally Posted by JH95

Calling someone who suffers with depression emotionally disturbed is a no go. And TheTruth, some of the things you said in your post at the top of the page were not true (such as Denise pinning the argument fully on Michael) so why dont YOU start again?

Michael is also someone who suffers with depression, is a recovering alcoholic and has battled with his own demons for years. In this sadly politically correct country we now live in we are not allowed to speak the truth for fear of "offending" someone, somewhere. In America they still believe in the right to speak the truth and Michael did not say anything that was slanderous or untrue. I am totally baffled by the outcry. Denise KNOWS she is emotionally disturbed - we KNOW she is emotionally disturbed, her family and friends KNOW she is emotionally disturbed, so what's the big secret. It's precisely because of ridiculous OTT reactions to the voicing of a truth that such issues are swept under the carpet, and talked about in hushed tones. All that attitude does is stigmatise the issue and stifle proper debate.

Denise needs to wake up and smell the coffee, get herself some help, and get her life sorted out. She has come on CBB and showed us that she is indeed emotionally disturbed, and to be fair to her, she should never have been allowed on the show in the first place. It's not as if she hasn't ample past form to alert the producers to her problems, but all they were interested in was car crash tv. I hope they're proud of themselves, having effectively made Denise a) a figure of pity and scorn and b) a laughing stock.

As for the impact she has had on Michael's experience on the show, I believe she has completely ruined it and stifled him as a HM. The guy has his own emotional baggage and does not need to be in a house with someone who at 53 years of age has still not learnt to deal with her problems. Michael has, but I get the sense he has to do it on a daily basis, and having some old soak constantly in his face, reminding him of how it could be with him if he didn't work on it every minute, is not fair to him either.

What I find the most despicable about the whole situation is the way that Denise has manipulated the house to turn against Michael, since they are clearly unaware of all the occasions she has hunted him down, and confronted him one on one (no audience), then carefully fed the house her edited version of events in which Michael is always the monster. Having successfully wound him up privately, he of course will be grumpy, annoyed and snap at her, so she can then turn to the others, bat her eyelids, squeeze out some tears and say "I don't know what I've done"..."why doesn't he like me"....."I don't know why he's being so mean to me.....". blah, blah.

Michael is totally right about Denise - she is severely emotionally disturbed and if people don't want to hear that, then tough. I feel sorry for her actually because people constantly being in denial on her behalf are enabling her to continue on her path to self destruction, as she conveniently assumes that her actions are acceptable to them. It's totally wrong to crucify Michael for pointing out what her nearest and dearest should have a long, long time ago.